Mr Hancock also met staff and patients as he toured the Trust’s new Emergency Department, Maternity Unit; and Strength and Conditioning work with the Specialist
Therapies team.

He heard about the impressive progress the Trust has made in improving patient care since it exited special measures. The Secretary also found out about the Trust’s plans for the future.

The sentiment from the James Devine, Chief Executive for the Maritime Trust, was one of delight in welcoming Matt Hancock to the Trust, and was proud to
show The Secretary some of the fantastic work that the Hospital staff have been doing to improve the care they provide to the people of Medway and
Swale.

James also commented that their new Emergency Department was already making a real difference to the most unwell patients and was pleased that Mr Hancock was able to see this first hand.

“It was a really positive acknowledgment of the hard work of our staff,” He said, “and also of the way we are now working across the system in Medway and
Swale – with the ambulance service, community services, social care, primary care and mental health provider, as well as local health commissioners.

“We now have a much more integrated way of working which ensures our patients are treated in a more timely way, in the right place, this is particularly
important as we enter the winter period when we know all parts of the system will be under pressure.”

The Chief Executive also went on to express the pleasure in showing the work they are doing to support parents and their babies, as well as surgical patients
before their operations to help them achieve the best health outcomes or quality of life that result from the Hospital’s care.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock was happy to see first-hand the developments and progress made at Medway Maritime Hospital.

“The new state-of-the-art emergency department is better for patients,” he said “with an innovative rapid assessment unit to help dedicated staff provide
the best possible care.”

He was also delighted to meet a family and their new born baby in the Trust’s excellent midwifery-led unit which offers a relaxing and caring environment to parents.

The sentiment from The Trust is that they know they still have more to do to make sure that patients receive brilliant care all of the time - But they also know The Health Secretary Mr Hancock was impressed with the progress they are making.